In which She makes a pretentious film review.
So yesterday, I finally got a chance to watch "Repo! The Genetic Opera."
And uh.
Holy fuck.
But I have better words for it than that. I'll start with a mini-summary thing. (Yes, every English teacher I've ever had just squirmed in their seat, but honestly, I've never read a review that didn't have a summary in it somewhere.)
The story takes place in the not-so-distant future, when an epidemic of organ failures is killing off millions of people. Out of the chaos rises a man named Rotti Largo, who builds a company called GeneCo, which provides organ transplants to people along with a payment plan for those who can't afford it. Obviously, everyone is on board with that idea, and the company rises up rapidly. After lobbying a bill through congress, it becomes legal to repossess organs from people who have missed a payment. GeneCo also manufactures a powerful, addictive painkiller called Zydrate, used for surgery. (Surely, you can see the vicious cycle here? Use a painkiller for surgery, then you want the painkiller again, then you want surgery again...) Next thing you know, surgery has become a fashion statement. Transplant your eyes for a different color, transplant your face if you want to be prettier, so on and so forth. This also means that there are a lot of people getting transplants that can't afford it, which is where the Repo Man comes in, a mysterious figure which somehow tracks down those who have not paid for their organs and repossesses them. Use your imagination.
The story focuses on a sheltered teenager named Shilo, who has a blood disease she believes was genetically passed to her by her mother. Her father is also her doctor, and her keeps her locked up in her room constantly. She is not allowed to breathe outside air without a gas mask on, and isn't allowed to have guests over. She knows nothing of GeneCo or Zydrate or the Repo Man, but when Rotti Largo himself contacts her and offers to help her cure her blood disease, she sneaks out and sees what the world is really like, and the more she learns, the more she realizes that she is in the center of all of it.
Okay, now for the review part.
This movie is fantastic. The art direction, the costume design, the singing, it's all done extremely well. One thing that really stuck out to me was that the atrocities and horrors of this movie are based on real flaws in society. The way people constantly search for a savior, the way people mindlessly follow trends, not knowing or caring what they're getting themselves into, the way people indulge in things they don't need, so on. I was also pleased with the fact that this movie takes place in the future, but they avoided cheesy cliches such as flying cars or laser guns. It was a believable future. Alexa Vega, who played the main character, was adorable and powerful at the same time. She has a fantastic voice, and played the character very well.
To get it out of the way, yes. Paris Hilton is indeed in this movie. I had concerns about that myself, assuming she was going to be an awful actress or singer and completely ruin everything. Honestly? I was very surprised. Her singing voice isn't bad, and as far as her acting goes, her character didn't stray too far from Paris' reputation, so I can't honestly say how much acting was involved, but in any case, she didn't throw anything off. The best way I can put it is that one of my favorite songs in the movie is also the one where she sings the most, so clearly she's not messing anything up.
The movie has a message behind it, told through satire and in a cautionary manner. It tells of the dangers of getting in over your head, of jealousy, of secrets, and of family. The director of the movie also directed three of the "Saw" movies, which can be seen somewhat in the gorier scenes and at the intensely climactic ending. I should mention here that there is indeed gore in this movie, in the grand tradition of the "Saw" movies, the camera isn't going to conveniently cut away for your comfort when things get messy. There aren't a large amount of scenes that have gore in them, but the ones that do will probably make you cringe at the very least.
I'd say more, but I'm out of time. So, go watch the movie. And I'll leave you with this tasty tidbit:
www.youtube.com/watch (Sorry, no embedding. :C )
And uh.
Holy fuck.
But I have better words for it than that. I'll start with a mini-summary thing. (Yes, every English teacher I've ever had just squirmed in their seat, but honestly, I've never read a review that didn't have a summary in it somewhere.)
The story takes place in the not-so-distant future, when an epidemic of organ failures is killing off millions of people. Out of the chaos rises a man named Rotti Largo, who builds a company called GeneCo, which provides organ transplants to people along with a payment plan for those who can't afford it. Obviously, everyone is on board with that idea, and the company rises up rapidly. After lobbying a bill through congress, it becomes legal to repossess organs from people who have missed a payment. GeneCo also manufactures a powerful, addictive painkiller called Zydrate, used for surgery. (Surely, you can see the vicious cycle here? Use a painkiller for surgery, then you want the painkiller again, then you want surgery again...) Next thing you know, surgery has become a fashion statement. Transplant your eyes for a different color, transplant your face if you want to be prettier, so on and so forth. This also means that there are a lot of people getting transplants that can't afford it, which is where the Repo Man comes in, a mysterious figure which somehow tracks down those who have not paid for their organs and repossesses them. Use your imagination.
The story focuses on a sheltered teenager named Shilo, who has a blood disease she believes was genetically passed to her by her mother. Her father is also her doctor, and her keeps her locked up in her room constantly. She is not allowed to breathe outside air without a gas mask on, and isn't allowed to have guests over. She knows nothing of GeneCo or Zydrate or the Repo Man, but when Rotti Largo himself contacts her and offers to help her cure her blood disease, she sneaks out and sees what the world is really like, and the more she learns, the more she realizes that she is in the center of all of it.
Okay, now for the review part.
This movie is fantastic. The art direction, the costume design, the singing, it's all done extremely well. One thing that really stuck out to me was that the atrocities and horrors of this movie are based on real flaws in society. The way people constantly search for a savior, the way people mindlessly follow trends, not knowing or caring what they're getting themselves into, the way people indulge in things they don't need, so on. I was also pleased with the fact that this movie takes place in the future, but they avoided cheesy cliches such as flying cars or laser guns. It was a believable future. Alexa Vega, who played the main character, was adorable and powerful at the same time. She has a fantastic voice, and played the character very well.
To get it out of the way, yes. Paris Hilton is indeed in this movie. I had concerns about that myself, assuming she was going to be an awful actress or singer and completely ruin everything. Honestly? I was very surprised. Her singing voice isn't bad, and as far as her acting goes, her character didn't stray too far from Paris' reputation, so I can't honestly say how much acting was involved, but in any case, she didn't throw anything off. The best way I can put it is that one of my favorite songs in the movie is also the one where she sings the most, so clearly she's not messing anything up.
The movie has a message behind it, told through satire and in a cautionary manner. It tells of the dangers of getting in over your head, of jealousy, of secrets, and of family. The director of the movie also directed three of the "Saw" movies, which can be seen somewhat in the gorier scenes and at the intensely climactic ending. I should mention here that there is indeed gore in this movie, in the grand tradition of the "Saw" movies, the camera isn't going to conveniently cut away for your comfort when things get messy. There aren't a large amount of scenes that have gore in them, but the ones that do will probably make you cringe at the very least.
I'd say more, but I'm out of time. So, go watch the movie. And I'll leave you with this tasty tidbit:
www.youtube.com/watch (Sorry, no embedding. :C )